A New Beginning
by Smile At A Minion
Summary: In my story, She's Gone, buttercup had a dream-a memory of his life before Prim. This is it. It follows Buttercup's littermates, through their parents death and through everyday forest life.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:This is based off of Suzanne Collins book The Hunger Games. I am not her (no matter what I wish).This is my story of how Buttercup was found. It may not be accurate, or it may not be accurate to the account of the book, if not and if it bugs you, just PM me or leave a comment. Thanks**

**You dont have to, but it may help you undestand this if you read She's Gone. You dont have to.**

**Oh, and if you dont get it, Sage is Buttercup, Sage is his given name, Buttercup is Prim's name for him.**

A New Beginning  
Chapter one:Lost in the Face of Danger

My name is Rhyme. My brothers are: Gatter, Chate and Sage. My mother Jamie, and my father, absent at the moment, is Chad. Gatter,Chate mom and I all have dark gray fur. Gatter's is striped with black and brown. Chate is more like my mothers, both have almost the same shade of very dark fur. I have almost-black fur. My father and Sage are the odd ones, they have an ugly orange fur, and Gatter, Sage and father all have very untidy fur, nothing can keep their fur in place.

"Enough chattering my children. You must sleep, we have a long journey tommorow," Mother told the bundle of us. We were all huddled together, trying to excape from the snow outside of our small bundle. Father is away hunting for us at the moment. He will soon return though.

"Mother, Im cold!"Sage mewed. Gatter, Chate, and I meowed our is the type of cat who speaks his mind. Mother bent her head and licked his ear.

"We all are Sage. Hush and try to sleep," Mother told us, her voice muffled by Sage's fur. I closed my eyes and snuggled deeper into Gatter and Chate's fur. Its not hard to fall asleep after Father gets back and gives Gatter and Chate a mouse and Sage and I one. Finally we were let out of our bundle to stretch our legs and mess around.

"Be careful, and come right back to us when you get cold! We will be building a shelter for us," Mom tells us as we scamper off into the middle of the clearing. Now, I'll admitt it, Im not that great of a fighter,so the boys normally went easy on me. Sage was the best fighter. Naturally, Gatter, Sage and Chate got into a rough play fight and I was left to bat at them occasianally.

Then it starting snowing. All four of us started pouncing, jumping twisting and curling trying to grab the fragile snowflakes with our soft-furred paws. It was the best fun we have had in a really long time! Well, not that long since we were born not two months ago...But it was fun!

"Time for sleep kittens!" Father called to us as the fire-ball went down in the sky. Mom and Dad had built a shelter out of nearby bushes and twigs and leaves, it was just big enough for four full grown cats. Thats all we needed. Father slept on the open side of the bushe and Mother on the oposite, us in the center.

A year later

It was the Cold Days again. Mother no longer huddled us, she taught us. Right now she's in the middle of a hunting lesson.

"Sage, what can you hear and smell?" She asked a very tired looking Sage.

"Uh...I hear you and I smell Gatter," Gatter's look made us purr loudly, even Mom allowed herself a small trill.

"I mean what _animals_ as in _prey_ can you hear and smell!"

"Oh, well I smell...dog and scared cat and hear...dogs and a scared cat..." Then Dad came rushing through the outer edges of the clearing and told Mom something in a very rushed low voice. Mother whipped her head around, a wild look in her eyes. She quickly composed herself for our sake. Her tail beckoned us forward and her and father both gathered us in a warm embrace. Then mom whispered to us to get into the bushes and run. We were not to come out of the bushes no matteer what. We did as we were told, but tensed to rush out and help.

Mother and Father turned towards the awful barking, looks of such intensity in their eyes, that the snow and trees looked as if they would melt.

"Be brave my children!" Then the dogs were upon them. I turned away with a heavy feeling in my stomach. i couldnt watch.


	2. Chapter 2

This is a story based off of my other story (actually its like a paragraph or so), She's Gone, so if you want, go check it out! :)

Disclaimer: this is my story of Buttercups arrival in the Everdeens house, but this time Buttercups littermates! I do not own the hunger games but do own these characters (sage but not buttercup).

Wow long, on with the story!

A New Beginning

Chapter 2: Seperate Ways.

"It's quite sad, really."

"You idiot! Of course its sad!"

"I meant why they stayed and fought instead of running like they told us."

"Gatter! Do you not understand? They stayed because they had to! The dogs would have caught our trail and killed us all, not just them!" I said furiously.

"They weren't killed, they were _slaughtered." _I stomped away from my brothers at this. I know its true. That makes it torture, i cant even describe what i saw those dogs do to our parents. Sure they held them off for a little while, but when six more came? No. Its very hard to think about.

Could you imagine? Just picture for just a minute, imagine you as a small cat, smaller than your litter mates imagine a clearing twenty yards on each side, now think of your fearless father cone running into the clearing scared out of his mind, with barking, snarling and growling chasing him! Now imagine your parents gathering you and saying goodbye, then sending you into the bushes to run. Imagine watching your parents being...Never mind. Its too hard.

"Hey Rhyme! You here or are you in space?" Chate meowed in my direction.

"Oh shut it Gatter! And yes,Chate, i was technically here. In the body."

"Where's Sage? I here him but I cant find him," Gatter asked us, changing the subject.

"He's in the bushes, he's grieving as he should! _He's_ in the right mind," I muttered the last part, making us come back to the subject we were discussing.

"Calm down Rhyme, you've let your temper get the best of you _again_."

"Stay out of this Cha-you know what, your right. I should learn to control my emotions. This is a time we should be united, not fighting," I said, my whole body calmed down as I took a deep breath and smelled my litter mates familiar smell. It was mixed with fear, sorrow and shock.

"Rhyme, why don't we go find Sage and sleep. Goodness knows we need it," Chate leaned into me, spreading his warmth to me.

"Sage! Come on, lets leave this dreadful place!" I meowed in the general direction of the tough cat.

"What makes it so dreadful? I kinda like it here," Gatter muttered from behind me. I chose to ignore him and, instead I watched Sage come out into the clearing with us.

"I know a place we can sleep," He meowed when he got closer to Gatter, Chate and I. Sage turned and walked toward the evergreen trees by the stream. We fell in behind him, for once not bickering, just reflect about the recent turn of events.

"Mom showed me this when I got sick, she told me I could rest here, with dad so I didn't get you guys sick," Sage meowed, leading us into a small cave. Just big enough for four, year old cats.

"What happened to howling at the moon, Sage?" Gatter asked the yellow-furred feline. Chate and I turned to watch the scene that was about to unravel.

"What about it?"

"Why did you stop?"

"'cause I got tired of it."

"Oh. Then why were you howling in the first place?" Gatter continued, looking for another fight when Sage didn't respond in the right way to his first attempt.

"It was unjust. Those dogs really tick me off," His answer was simple, never taking the bait.

"Oh."

"Good _night_," I meowed. They lay down and I knew they understood that I wanted this day over, my brothers could read emotions and words like a bird can read the sky.

Somewhere in the middle of the night I hear a soft rustle, and felt a layer of warmth leave the den. I know I should be worried but, I am too tired to care.

"Where is Sage? WHERE is Sage? _WHERE IS SAGE?!" _Chate howled into the air. I woke up to find Gatter and Chate nowhere in sight, _must be in the __clearing_, I thought. I curled my head into my tail again, then I remembered what Chate was howling.

My legs apparently were ahead of my brain because they were racing to the clearing before my mind figured out what to do. Gatter and Chate were there, but Sage wasn't. He left us,I just know it! After all, he wasn't likely to sit around with us and mourn. That was just his personality.

"Sage isn't coming back, guys. Would you really expect him to? We should take a page out of his book, start a new life. Explore!" What happened to me over night? I was a whole new cat! Yesterday I would never have dreamed of leaving. My brothers agreed because they were staring at me like i just lost my mind. I probably have.

"Um, Rhyme? You feeling alright?" Chate walked towards me. There was real concern in his eyes, he must think I'm in shock.

"Yes! I mean no-yes, no, yes! I am fine,"I stuttered through the confusion of my mind.

"Uh-huh. Sure, like you expect us to believe that," Gatter muttered, rolling his eyes. That earned him a glare in both directions, it caused him to shy away.

"If that is what you want Rhyme. I'm in, but just know, if we leave we will get over the dogs," Chate stood at my side, acting as a crutch for my tired body.

"Yes, thats what I want more than anything. Gatter? Are you coming with us?" Gatter swished his tail and turned.

"Which way?" He asked looking back.

"East?"

"No, that is a village to the east. We will go southwest, away from the people," Chate told us, taking the lead._ And my new life begins..._

Six months later

Our winter fur was long gone, and our memories of that terrible day were in the back of our minds. After all, it is survival of the fittest here in the wild.

Sage's memories left with him. I haven't thought of him in almost four months! That doesn't mean I don't miss him though, I miss him horribly. Gatter and Chate don't show it, but they are missing him too, on the inside. Sage, like our parents, left us, but his memories, like our parents, are here.

This is no time to dwell in the past. What is done is done. No more to it.

"Rhyme?" Chate calls to me, from the bushes.

"Yes, Chate?"

"Gatter and I are going to hunt. Gatter tells me to ask you if you could gather some more bedding?" Chate made it sound like Gatter _asked, _but its more like he told me to.

"Mm-kay," I twitched my ears in farewell. Chate turned and ran off into the forest, chasing after Gatter. I turned the opposite way, towards the little stream where moss grew.

The trees held all of their green leafs, swaying at every slight breeze on this sweltering day. The sun had reached its highest potential in the sky by the time I reached the stream. It was only half way when I left.

I went straight to work, gathering moss and the occasional feather. The stream taunted e the whole time I worked. This and the fact that the sun was scorching anything that lived, made my tongue so dry that I couldn't stand it a second longer.

"Just one drink wont hurt...maybe a swift wash with the cold water," I hissed to myself, following my words with swift actions.

"I'll get some of the fish too," I swiped at the fish, snagging twelve of the tiny creatures. As I caught the animals, I set them next to my moss and feathers.

I got back to our camp site and started to lay out all my days gathering. I was so focused that I jumped a foot high when I felt the heat of another cat touch me.

"What are you doing there?" Said a voice that was neither of my brothers.


End file.
